# Metal-Catalyzed Methods for Organic Synthesis

> **NIH NIH R35** · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2020 · $1,181,878

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
The ability to prepare highly functionalized molecules in a general and predictable way is central
to organic synthesis and the backbone of drug discovery, development and scale-up. The
chemistry that we are proposing involves the development of carbon-heteroatom and carbon-
carbon bond formations. Our prior work is widely used throughout academia and industry for the
preparation of complex molecules and has become mainstay processes for synthetic chemists.
The invention of new methods will not only allow access to important compounds but also the
means to be able to efficiently and selectively modify them, to change their properties and
or/eliminate side effects. Included in our proposed work are palladium-catalyzed cross coupling
methods for the formation of heterocyclic carbon-nitrogen bonds, carbon-oxygen bonds and
carbon-fluorine bonds; copper-catalyzed methods for the highly regio-, diastereo-, and
enantioselective synthesis of aliphatic amines; and copper-catalyzed methods for the
asymmetric formation of carbon-carbon bonds. Mechanistic studies will be conducted to
understand the fundamental features of these transformations and will guide us to advance the
efficiency and utility of this work. The substrates we are targeting are ubiquitous structural
components in pharmaceuticals, natural products, agrochemicals and sensors. The application
of these new technologies for the preparation of highly functionalized and diverse compounds,
which have previously been inaccessible, will have a great impact in a range of areas that are
directly important to human health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9930089
- **Project number:** 5R35GM122483-04
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** STEPHEN L BUCHWALD
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,181,878
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-06-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9930089

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9930089, Metal-Catalyzed Methods for Organic Synthesis (5R35GM122483-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9930089. Licensed CC0.

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